Update on Lee Lee

It has been a little over seven months now since Lee Lee’s accident — how life can change in an instant! Lee Lee continues to improve slowly. Due to the severity and type of brain injury Lee Lee sustained, the opinion of her doctors and our hope is that this slow but steady improvement will continue for quite a few years.

Lee Lee remains at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital with a scheduled discharge date for the end of August. She is now eating soft food three meals a day and has started to say a few words. Her use of her arms, hands and legs and her general mobility is gradually improving. We are very fortunate to have such an incredibly talented and caring staff at Bryn Mawr that work with her daily.

Lee Lee is very aware of the challenges she faces, but is applying the same grit and determination that took her through honors at university and to grad school and made her the rider she is. She is very committed and works extremely hard every day in her therapy sessions, which has impressed everyone.

Although Lee Lee cannot communicate as much as she would like to, she is mentally very bright and alert. She uses a lot of head nods or shaking of her head to answer questions, laughs at jokes and brightens our days with her smiles. So although progress is slow it is PROGRESS!

We have started making preparations for when Lee Lee comes home. The logistics are a little overwhelming to be honest, but we will work through it and make the transition as smooth as possible. We have done some wheelchair access renovations and modifications to the bathroom, and Evie has started to look into caregiving support and transport for Lee Lee.

We have tried to learn as much from Lee Lee’s fall as possible to be able to prevent someone else from experiencing this terrible tragedy. Lee Lee’s helmet is at a testing laboratory in the UK thanks to Roy Burek of Charles Owen. We hope to hear some results of the tests in the near future and will certainly share our findings.

Evie, Lee Lee’s dad Richie, and Lee Lee’s boyfriend Kareem have done an amazing job of staying by Lee Lee’s side day in and day out through these past seven months. Mary and Olivia, although they have had to face the cruel realities of life, have been such an incredible support for their sister, as have countless number of friends and family.

Evie and I want to thank everyone that has reached out to Lee Lee and our family through letters, cards, emails, and good thoughts and prayers. I am a believer in the power of positive thinking, so please continue to keep Lee Lee in your thoughts and prayers. I know it helps!

Also, on behalf of Lee Lee and her whole family, I want to thank those that have donated money, participated in the online auction or run in one of the races to help raise money to help for her care. Lee Lee is going to need a lot of therapy and support for years to come, so this is greatly appreciated.

To anyone who would like to help support Lee Lee’s recovery and care, please go to Lee Lee’s GoFundMe page here, or send a check to the Cordelia Elizabeth Jones Support Trust c/o Evie Dutton, 248 Hood Road, West Grove, PA 19390.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel and we try to take one day at a time. Evie and I can’t thank you all enough for your support. There are not enough words to express how grateful and appreciative we are. A special thanks goes to the True Prospect Farm staff, who went above and beyond when we needed it the most, and to our close friends and family, who have helped keep us sane and helped keep our life running while still enabling us to laugh from time to time.